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Thatcham's Kings Head Pub donates to Parkinson's Newbury branch




Cheeky calendar featuring former Thatcham FC manager and players helps fundraiser

A THATCHAM pub has donated thousands of pounds to charity in a last act of generosity from its departing landlady.

The Kings Head regulars agreed to take part in a naked calendar to raise funds for Parkinson’s Newbury branch.

The calendar boys’ cheeky snaps, featuring former Thatcham Town FC manager Danny Robinson and player Curtis Angell, combined with other events, raised £2,100, to be matchfunded by Greenham Trust.

The donation and awareness- raising for the charity are the last orders for landlady Lisa Ludewig, who is stepping down because of the impact of coronavirus on the pub.

Mrs Ludewig said: “I have got the best punters.

“All these crazy ideas I come up with and they just go along with them.”

The fundraising started last year with various scooter club members riding to the Broadway pub.

Mrs Ludewig put on refreshments for the scooter riders, but didn’t charge, asking them to donate to charity instead.

A pot behind the bar, race nights, quiz nights, a golf day and a Madness tribute band helped top up the funds.

Mrs Ludewig said she wanted to raise awareness for the Parkinson’s charity and thanked ‘the calendar boys’, ‘the scooter boys’, Murphy Abraham and her son Connor Ludewig, who donated money from Chase the Joker, and the ‘wreath-making girls’.

She said that she had “the best customers… I come up with these crazy ideas and they go ‘that will never work’ but they just go along with them”.

The funds will help Newbury and District Parkinson’s provide exercises and speech therapy sessions for people with the condition.

Newbury and District Parkinson’s chairman Bruce Blaine said: “The funds raised are to help our members to undertake exercises that are essential to the managing of Parkinson’s as a condition.

“This individual donation is one of the biggest we have had in a long time.

“It will be a major boost to our funds and Lisa has done a terrific job and it’s good that she identified us as her charity.

“That really is a cheeky calendar.

“We were amazed how people responded.

“It’s Lisa’s generosity of providing refreshments for them and they donated through a charity pot.

“It’s a pity that the coronavirus has led her to leave.”

The charity has centres at the West Berkshire Therapy Centre in Thatcham, Wash Common and Hungerford.

Mr Blaine said: “Exercising and socialising are both really important to keep the condition at bay as long as they can.”

He said that the Newbury branch had 180 members and there were between 400 and 500 people in West Berkshire with Parkinson’s, “so we are constantly wanting people to be aware”.



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